Thursday, May 31, 2007

Cooking with Lavender

Lavender is becoming increasingly popular as an ingredient in cooking. Restaurants and home cooks are finding this beautiful plant a lovely enhancement to the flavor and appearance of the foods they make. Lavender bud and leaves can both be used for culinary purposes in both the fresh and dried forms. Dried lavender bud added to a cup of your favorite tea has a charmingly astringent flavor, while clumps of lavender flowers make a beautiful addition to green salads. Sauces, jellies, frozen desserts, and creams are all enhanced by lavender's presence. Lavender is also delicious in baked goods like tea breads, yeast breads, cookies, and cakes. And it can be substituted in any recipe that calls for rosemary quite successfully. Even the spikes and stems of the lavender plant are useful in cooking, making flavorful skewers for fruit kabobs. So, go make yourself a icy cold glass of lavender lemonade, and read on for more 'cooking with lavender' ideas.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:48 PM

    ThanX for the wonderful collection of ideas about cooking with Lavender. It's a personal favorite -- so frangrant and soothing. I look forward to eXploring these resources.

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  2. I have never cooked with lavender and I have to admit, I never have thought about it like that but I am now! Thanks for giving me the motivation to try something new.
    I love my lavender bath oil that I make myself. It has such great medicinal uses, too.

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  3. Anonymous6:38 AM

    I love going to Farmers Markets in the summer in Washington State to enjoy all the lavender creations. Beautiful post on lavender. I can almost smell it...

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